BANDARBAN — The superintendent of the Baishari Shah Nuruddin Dakhil Madrasa in the Baishari union of Bandarban’s Naikhongchhari upazila has been accused of sexually harassing female students, and parents say a march protesting the allegations was attacked. The superintendent, Nurul Hakim, 56, denies the allegations.
According to the complaint, a march of students and parents from Baishari Bazar to the madrasa on Sunday, Dec. 7, was attacked. Four or five students were injured and treated at the Naikhongchhari Upazila Health Complex.
The next day, the mother of an injured student, Rabeya Akhter, filed a complaint at Naikhongchhari police station naming seven people and 10 to 12 others unidentified, on Monday, Dec. 8.
The complaint says Hakim touched several ninth- and 10th-grade girls under various pretexts. When the students told their parents, the parents complained to the madrasa’s governing committee but received no satisfactory response, leading to the march that was attacked, the complaint says.
Akhter said she had joined the march to demand justice and was attacked. “My child is a boy, so I do not know directly about the harassment, but I want justice for the attack,” she said.
Hakim denied the allegations. “I am almost 60. In 30 years of teaching no such allegation has ever been raised,” he said. “I have served this institution for 25 years and built it bit by bit. Now a faction is using these innocent students to conspire against me.”
Mazharul Islam Chowdhury, the Naikhongchhari upazila executive officer, has formed a three-member committee led by upazila youth development officer Mahabub ul Ilahi to investigate the allegations.
A committee member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a report would be submitted shortly. Preliminary findings indicated that the superintendent had held the hands of some ninth- and 10th-grade students wearing henna to admonish them, which was inappropriate, the member said, but no clear evidence of sexual harassment had been found.
Abdul Baten, the officer-in-charge of Naikhongchhari police station, said a complaint about the attack had been accepted and the matter was under investigation.
Chowdhury said the three-member committee investigating the harassment allegations had not yet submitted its report. The attack was being investigated separately, and legal action would be taken against those found responsible, he said. The administration said further action would be taken after the investigation report is released.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report